


A Dinner with Family

by Badgermole



Series: Colors [23]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: American Sign Language, Autism, Dinner, Food, Gen, Lizard, mention of deceased character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29050380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badgermole/pseuds/Badgermole
Summary: Some important people are coming to town. Dee is a nervous wreck.(Just read it, Nike Swoosh!)
Relationships: Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Colors [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1184909
Comments: 12
Kudos: 78





	A Dinner with Family

[Hey Purple.] Dee signed with his free hand as his nephew greeted him at the door. 

Good on Virgil for learning sign language, but Dee found it kind of unnecessary signing to him. They all were doing their best to learn and Dee understood that, but he never thought Virgil looked high enough to see most of it. Signing happened a lot around the chest and face. The idea of purposely bringing attention to his facial burns was not something he was fond of. Obviously, he knew that Virgil’s seen his face before but it was rare and that let himself believe that to Virgil good old Uncle Dandelion was mustard colored shoes... not a scarred face. 

As if to prove his point, Virgil was preoccupied with staring at the blanket covered box in his uncle’s hand. Last time his uncle came with a box, there was a kitten inside. He didn’t want another kitten, he liked Squoosh… but he also had learned about chameleons and he wouldn’t mind one of them. Blue printed pictures out for him and hung them on his bedroom wall.

“There’s something for you in here,” Dee smiled and raised the box a little bit.

Virgil rubbed a circle on his chest before making grabby hands toward the box. [Please.]

Dee felt eyes on him and looked up to see Logan staring him down. The older brother’s arms were crossed, his eyes shooting the message clear as day.  _ If you got my son another pet I’m going to kill you. _ Dee playfully wiggled his eyebrow before looking back down at Virgil who was starting to whine.

“Tada,” with a flourish Dee pulled the blanket off to reveal a cage with a chameleon inside. 

Virgil’s eyes lit up and wiggled his fingers between the bars.  _ Lizard cages don’t have bars.  _ Logan’s face started to turn red. Inside of the hamster cage was a chameleon plushie. The cage was decorated with some fake rocks, plants, and a nice big branch where the chameleon was resting. As Logan got closer he could make out a couple plastic crickets along the bottom and a water dish full of some sort of fake plastic water.

“Wow…” Logan blinked at the creation. 

“Only the best for my nephew.” Dee unclipped the door and pulled out the stuffed animal. 

Virgil hesitantly ran his fingers over the new toy. It was so soft.  _ Soft. Soft. Soft. _ A smile started to grow on Virgil’s face as he traced the different pastel colored splotches around the animal. 

[Lizard.] Virgil grabbed the chameleon and went to go show Squoosh his new friend.

Patton and Logan left to pick up dinner, leaving Virgil and Dee to lay out on the floor together. It had become a thing they’d do together. Technically it was something Virgil always did and Dee would join in on the floor or the couch for a few minutes until his body reminded him that he wasn’t also a six year old.

Although, today Dee was the one who initiated it. The feeling of carpet on his scars didn’t always feel great but it was always great to just relax with his nephew… even if his stress was currently caused in part by the small boy.

Virgil was quick to follow suit, giving the chameleon a pat before leaving it in its cage. Dee smiled as Virgil’s head started to turn toward him before snapping back in the opposite direction. They stayed in their normal silence together for a good handful of minutes before Squoosh decided to join in. Surprisingly, the cat curled up on Dee. He must have really been giving off nervous vibes if she chose him over Virgil.

“Do you remember your mom?” Dee asked, figuring now was as good a time as any. He watched as his nephew gave no reply. The kid was facing away from him and had his arms curled up pinned between his chest and the floor.

“You know the picture by your bed? That’s me, your mom, and you when you were just a baby,” Dee tried instead. He’d need to ask something that would really pique the kid’s interest enough to get out of his comfortable position to respond.

Virgil smiled at that. Even without seeing his face, Dee knew. His body pulled up tense but it was also relaxed at the same time. Almost like instead of pulling up the corners of his mouth, he had pulled up his body. Dee smiled back. Virgil had never seemed interested in pictures of himself and despite their recent bonding, Dee didn’t think the smile was for him. Which left only one person. Sandy. 

Dee had never put much thought into it, but Sandy was pretty close to a color. Maybe Virgil would’ve called his mom by her name.

“Is there something you need?” Logan looked up from his book. His brother had been mulling about the living room for quite a few minutes now while Patton put Virgil to bed.

“Do you have plans for this Saturday?” Dee asked, giving a quick pat to the hidden yellow handkerchief in his breast pocket.

“We’re still trying to figure out what we want to do.” A couple weeks ago the Sanders trio started doing ‘Adventure Saturdays.’ They would set aside a couple hours to do something new and Virgil wouldn’t get the specifics until the day of. Partially because the Blues had horrendous planning skills but also as a way to safely and slowly introduce some more randomness and experiences into Virgil’s life.

“Why don’t you guys come over my place for lunch?” Dee shoved his hands into his pockets.

Logan gave a small hesitant nod. “I’ll talk with Patton about it. But, as you know, Virgil doesn’t eat at new places.”

“You’re welcome to bring along Squoosh.” Squoosh definitely was doing her job of helping the small boy. Dee figured she would be able to lend a paw at making the lunch possible.

“We’ll discuss it.” 

“Thanks,” Dee headed out of the house with a blinding smile.

“I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to come over Saturday. Purple has had a rough week. I don’t want him to miss another meal,” Logan didn’t even wait for Dee to sit down.

Dee’s face fell as he dropped onto the park bench. He needed the young boy to visit his house this Saturday so that he was prepared for the next time. Dee knew Purple would need an ample amount of time to get adjusted to the new place and Purple needed to be comfortable in his house if he had any hope of him being comfortable when Sandy’s parents came… because they wanted to see their grandson.

Dee could feel his brother’s inquiring gaze on him. He had to have looked a lot more beaten up than he should have. “Okay. Next time then,” Dee tried to shrug it off with indifference. Really he should have just asked before he even found out about his in-laws coming to town. There was no reason Purple and the Blues hadn’t been over yet.

“Yes, I see no reason why we can't arrange another time in the future.”

Dee still felt his brother’s eyes on him, but Logan didn’t press any further. _ A lie of omission was still a lie _ , his brain nagged at him. He just needed some time to figure out a better plan first. Logan would not accept a half-assed plan, especially one that involved his son. He did have his nephew on his side already. That was something at least.

Dee took a deep breath and tried to focus his attention on the two young boys running around in front of him. He loved his nephew, loved watching him run around, loved watching him learn new things. But his heart always seemed to clench whenever they were together recently. If he had just been a better father, he’d be watching his son not his nephew. The fire that took Sandy wasn’t anyone’s fault, but maybe if he had been better she would’ve been sitting next to him on the park bench rather than his brother. Maybe Virgil’s best friend would have been Logan’s kid, cousins as close as they come. 

A real family.

Dee sighed as he kicked off his shoes into a pile next to the door. He’d figure something out. His in-laws were good people. His hand pulled up and scrubbed at the good side of his face. Why couldn’t this just be easy? He tried to just focus on having Virgil come over just for the sake of coming over rather than the impending visit from his in-laws. As he stretched out on the small couch in his living room, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

_ Logan: Does Wednesday night work for you? _

Dee stood back panting with his hands on his hips. His apartment was pretty sparse but he had done his best to rearrange the few things he had into a layout similar to his brother’s living room. Anything he could think of to make his nephew more comfortable, he was going to do it. The small second-hand loveseat was pushed up against the wall, nothing like the nice L-couch at his brother’s. A small too tall side table was moved in front of the couch posing as a coffee table. He plopped down into the creaky metal folding chair he had pulled out of the closet to emulate Logan’s nice armchair recliner. 

He groaned. His apartment wasn’t a dump, but it just wasn’t his brother’s house. Dee had done his best to hide away any of the yellow in his house and was disappointed to find that he didn’t have anything purple to put out. The place felt like a cheap knock-off, but hopefully it still felt like his own place. He couldn’t have his family thinking he was just trying to copy them. In all honesty, he was still trying to figure out who exactly he was now that he was out of rehab and staying sober. 

With a sigh, Dee checked the time of his phone. They would be here soon, with the pizza arriving shortly after. Normal family dinners at his brother’s would have a good bit of relaxing downtime before they ate, but Dee didn’t want to pressure them to stay long. His restless fingers tried to straighten out the small stack of coasters he had found. Hopefully, everything would turn out fine. If Virgil even took a bite of his slice, Dee was going to be over the moon. But more realistically, if the boy didn’t completely freak out that would be a win in his book. Virgil could sit on the couch or play with Squoosh in the corner. All Dee wanted was a sign from his nephew that he was comfortable… and that he didn’t scar him from ever wanting to come back.

The intercom buzzed.

They were here.

He could do this.

“He just needs a few minutes to adjust,” Logan said, placing the glass of water down. Patton flashed a soft smile. He had been in a similar position not too long ago himself.

“I know.” Dee grumbled and crossed his arms trying not to show how nervous he was. Virgil was doing a slow small wander through the couple of rooms with Squoosh squooshed against his chest dangling rather unhappily at her position. Dee knew it was better than if Virgil had decided to stick to his father’s side, but Virgil still wasn’t as comfortable as Dee had hoped. 

“Ah, not in there Purple. That’s my room.” Dee watched as Virgil yanked his hand away from the knob. Normally, Dee probably wouldn’t have minded but he had tossed all the yellow things he could find in there. He didn’t need his nephew getting overwhelmed by that. 

Virgil’s arms tightened around Squoosh’s midsection causing a small yelp from the cat. His fingers twitched faster through the animal’s fur and slowly backed away from the door. Virgil had a weird thing about bedrooms. Dee only had a rough idea of it and Logan had only given him a shrug when he had asked about it. It had kind of baffled Dee that Logan didn’t know. They were all aware of it, but none of them totally got it. He had thought to ask his nephew about it, but Virgil always seemed just as confused that they were confused.

Bedrooms had a sort of forcefield around them, Dee had concluded. They were sacred places and you had to be invited in otherwise it was someplace you weren’t welcomed in. When Dee first realized it, he had gotten a knot in his stomach. He and Logan had gone into Virgil’s room without a second thought when Logan showed him the two family photos Virgil had at his bedside.

“Your apartment is nice,” Patton said, trying to make some light conversation.

“Yeah. It’s alright,” Dee pulled his eyes away from his nephew. “I’m still working on fleshing it out.”

Patton smiled and with a rapid nod noted, “If you ever need help picking out anything to fill out the place, let me know.” 

Logan let out a groan and shook his head remembering all the boxes Patton had brought along with him when he moved in. So many boxes.

Dee smiled at his brother’s discomfort and nodded along happily with Patton. He probably wouldn’t take Patton up on the offer, but he would never pass up the opportunity to annoy his older brother.

Dee was ecstatic to see Virgil sitting down at the small kitchen table when he returned with the box of pizza. The buzz of the intercom had rattled Virgil a little bit but he seemed calm finally sitting down for the first time tonight. Squoosh was in her carrying case on the floor next to him. Dee knew from experience that Squoosh could steal food off the table in the blink of an eye.

His table was definitely meant more for only two people, but the four of them somehow managed without too many bumped elbows. After originally plopping the pizza box onto the table, taking up all the space, the box was moved to the kitchen. Dee felt a bit foolish having not already set the table up with some cups and plates. Luckily it didn’t take too much time before everything was set up and dinner could begin.

Dinner was pretty quiet aside from Squoosh’s upset meows. Every time Dee felt his eyes look over to Virgil, Dee would snap them someplace else. He may have desperately wanted to see if Virgil had even touched his slice, but the less pressure he put on the boy the more likely it would be that he’d take a bite. There was so much more that he should have done to prepare for tonight. Logan and Patton always made sure the meals were full of color and had a number of sides so Virgil would be more likely to find something he was in the mood to eat. But here Dee went with a simple plan cheese pizza. 

The plate in front of him slid closer to his chest. Dee was surprised to see Virgil’s small sweatshirt covered hand snake back toward his own slice. He blinked in surprise. The older man was so worried about Virgil not eating that he had forgotten about his own dinner. 

[Thank you.] Dee carefully dropped his hand from his chin.

Just peeking out from under his beanie, Dee saw Virgil’s eyes flick to the side.  _ Yes _ .

It wasn’t until Virgil was staring down at the floor that Dee realized his apartment was pretty much entirely wood floored. He didn’t even have an area rug or anything. 

“Okay. Okay. Hold on,” Dee mumbled to himself and disappeared into his bedroom. He frantically, probably more so than he needed to be, grabbed as many blankets as he could and rushed back out to his nephew.

Dee unceremoniously dropped the pile and toed at it until the sheets spread out somewhat evenly over his small living room floor. 

Patton pulled Logan with him toward the door, calling behind him with a wink, “We’re going to get some air.”

Dee didn’t get a chance to say thank you before the door closed behind the pair. The pile was nothing like proper carpeting and just looking at it made his bones hurt. He took a deep breath and leaned back letting his back crack. There was a possibility that he was misreading the whole situation, but this was their thing. He’d never seen Logan or Patton lay down on the floor with him. This was their thing, Dee repeated again like a mantra. 

He grabbed the metal folding chair and sat so he could remove his shoes without falling on his face. It took a couple of tries, his hands shaking for some reason. Virgil hadn’t eaten the pizza at dinner, only poking the tip that hung off the edge of the plate. But this. This was their thing.

Squoosh strutted over and started kneading the fabric. Dee glanced up toward the ceiling and gave a silent prayer that she wouldn’t rip them up. The apartment was quiet, almost still. He could hear the meows of his neighbor’s cats. Some of them were probably Squoosh’s relatives. 

Once again, Dee found himself initiating their floor laying. God, he was more nervous than the first time they had laid down together. The space was more cramped than his brother’s house, but he wiggled his way into a comfortable position that both avoided Squoosh and left room if Virgil decided to join him.

He took a deep breath trying to relax. Maybe he should have thrown in some of the pillows from the couch, just to add a little bit more cushioning on the hard floor. But Dee didn’t dare get up, unsure how Virgil would respond to it. So Dee laid partially on his back, partially on his side with his eyes closed trying to relax. 

The more he laid there, the more comfortable he got. Though that might have just been his body numbing. With some controlled breathing he was starting to feel some of the stress leaving him. But there was still a big knot in his stomach. He still hadn’t heard Virgil lay down. Dee was sure there was enough space for the boy. 

He just needs a minute to adjust, Logan’s words echoed in his head. But Dee was starting to worry that Virgil was never going to lay down with him. And God only knows how long Patton and Logan were going to walk around outside. 

“I’m sorry,” Dee apologized and sat up. “I know it’s not the same.” 

Dee rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. The night wasn’t turning out at all like he had hoped. He was trying, and he knew Virgil was too. It just wasn’t enough. It just wasn’t the right time. 

Virgil’s fist gently bobbed up and down as his shoe rubbed against the closest piece of fabric. 

Deflated, Dee balled up all the sheets and headed back to his bedroom. They almost had it. He tossed the pile into the corner and took a few moments to collect himself. Virgil didn’t need to see him so disappointed. It wasn’t Virgil’s fault. 

Dee gave his mess of a room a once over, dreading having to clean it up. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t have the energy or motivation to do so tonight. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and started back into the main room. He’d let Logan and Patton know they could come back. But something stopped him as he crossed the threshold of his room.

His head dropped to his feet. The right was in the small hallway on the wood. His left on the other hand was still in his bedroom where it rested not on wood but carpet. Dee nearly slapped his forehead in disbelief. His bedroom was carpeted. It hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“Kid!” Dee called out excitedly, slipping the phone back into his pocket. There was a meow from Squoosh, but Virgil didn’t make any noise. “Purple, I’ve got something to show you.” Dee tried a bit calmed and leaned out the door farther trying to catch sight of the boy in the other room.

Dee smiled as the sound of shuffling feet started toward him. Virgil was staring down at his feet and was moving so slowly Dee thought time slowed to a stop. But he was coming.

“I know I said before not to come in,” Dee glanced back into the room panicking that he hadn’t hidden all the yellow things in there. “But I want you to come in now. There’s carpet. We can lay down together.” 

Virgil’s hands fluttered around in front of him and Dee wasn’t sure if there was a sign he was supposed to have understood or if it was just some happy flapping. Regardless Dee ducked back into his room and tossed the blankets over anything yellow he could find. The room lost a bit of its coziness, looking like an abandoned old haunted house, but there was carpet and that’s all that mattered.

A bit of a whining noise from Virgil caused the older man to turn. The young boy was rocking back and forth slightly, letting his toes just touch the metal strip between the two rooms.

“It’s O-K,” Dee clumsily signed the two letters, “You can come in.”

Virgil’s hand fluttered around again. This time Dee was sure there was supposed to be some signs. 

“I don’t…” Dee trailed off trying to remember the signs. [I don’t understand.]

Virgil looked more agitated and Dee worried that he’d missed something yellow. He quickly grabbed one of the left over sheets and started darting around the room trying to find what was bothering his nephew. This was supposed to be relaxing. Virgil was supposed to be comfortable. 

“Dandy…” Virgil’s voice was barely a whisper. Dee spun around expecting Virgil to be pointing out the offending object but instead his hands were drawn up to his chest. 

“What’s wrong, Purp?” Dee asked as calmly as he could and knelt down in front of Virgil. He was maybe a foot away, wanting to give him space but also wanting the boy to know he was there and listening. He would figure out what Virgil was trying to say if it killed him.

“Go ahead. You can say it again. I’m watching,” Dee offered and made a vague ‘go ahead’ motion with his hands. 

Virgil’s hand moved again, a bit more purpose than before. The signs were still hard to catch as the boy kept his curled position. But Dee managed a few. [I. Mom. Home.]

Dee blinked. The Blue’s didn’t even get “Dad.” But here’s Virgil casually calling Sandy his mom. 

“No,” Dee cursed in his head as his voice got thick. “No, this isn’t our old house. This one’s new.”

Dee couldn’t read if that was a good thing or a bad thing yet. “Were… were you looking for your room before?” If he had thought that’s where they were of course he would’ve been looking for it, right? Was that why he was so tense? He thought Dee didn’t care enough to give him his own room?

With a couple of tugs on the front of his sweatshirt, Virgil took a couple steps into the room and laid on his stomach. Dee gave a small sniffle and wiped a tear, still thinking about Sandy. 

“I’m grabbing a pillow this time,” he tried to mask his voice. 

Virgil didn’t seem to react though, already running his fingers through the carpet. It wasn’t as soft or as nice as the carpet at his house, but it was enough. Dee, armed with a pillow, joined his nephew on the floor. 

When Patton and Logan returned with ice cream they got at a small mom-and-pop shop they found, Dee and Virgil were passed out on the bedroom floor. Virgil’s sweatshirt sleeve was tossed over one of Dee’s outstretched hands.


End file.
